Turning a house into a fortress

[justinio]

Hang On said:

Wrong.

Go on then. How does your super bomb proof glass prevent that then?

I'm intrigued.

[techguyone]

All you broken glass/razer wire/carpet gripper on the top of walls/fences etc, you do know that is very easily defeated by a bit of old carpet right?

[GhostyDog]

Wire the door handles up to the mains if they are metal, that'll give the feckers a surprise

[V8mate]

techguyone said:

All you broken glass/razer wire/carpet gripper on the top of walls/fences etc, you do know that is very easily defeated by a bit of old carpet right?

Which no smack head worth his salt goes out without!

[V8mate]

Thank you very much for the contributions so far; some great advice

One thing I'm curious about is the regular comment to keep the outside of the house well lit. I've often wondered why. In my mind it makes life easier for the criminal, because he can see what he's doing as he tries to negotiate/overcome the various obstacles put in his way.

I guess, if you live on a busy road, it might allow a passerby to notice something going on (though most people switch very quickly to minding their own business when there is), but I live in a cul-de-sac, so it's really quiet pretty much all the time.

[hkz286]

227bhp said:

You've been watching too many films.

nope,

my neighbour was burgled using this exact method.

[p1esk]

Badda said:

p1esk said:

Maybe so, but my complaint still stands. I don't suppose many people would go to the extent of deploying electrified fences and / or razor wire. That is quite extreme, but we can see from what's being posted here that some people feel the need to spend considerable sums of money and take elaborate measures to protect themselves from something that shouldn't be happening in the first place.

If we were to get our priorities right and have a proper system of law and order, those normal decent people wouldn't need to do so much of this stuff; and even when they've spent the money and taken all the precautions, they're still left with some degree of worry in case it all proves inadequate.

It seems odd to me that you're attacking my stance (that is what you're doing, isn't it?) when what I'm actually doing is advocating action that would help to relieve these normal decent people of worries that they ought not to have.

With all due respect, I must say I'm bound to wonder just whose side you are on?

Whose side? You think I'm pro-burglar?

You sound in favour of a sharia type law or huge terms in prison like the US. Hint, neither system works. You're advocating a fascist utopia and I don't like that.

No, I don't think you're pro-burglar, but nor do you seem very concerned about a situation that causes great worry to many people.

I'm not sure what sharia law amounts to, or what a fascist utopia would be like, and I doubt if I'd like either; but I do think we ought to be taking more stern measures to make an impact on the problem

On the other hand, you don't give the impression that the present situation offends you sufficiently to contemplate any measures to tackle it. You seem to have concluded that I'm advocating a very harsh regime, and you don't like it, but how would you propose to tackle the problem?

[p1esk]

ghost83 said:

Badda said:

Sounds homely.

It’s very homely unless you’re looking u wouldn’t see the security measures and that’s exactly what we want

Even so, I wouldn't want to live with the feeling that my home needs to have fortress-like qualities, with internal doors locked etc.

It just seems odd to me that people here will put up with all the cost and the practical measures required, and yet nobody seems interested in tackling the problem from the other end, i.e. putting the burglars out of business etc., but that's what should happen.

Speaking for myself, no matter how secure it might be, I really wouldn't want the feeling that I'm living in a fortress. Still, perhaps some people are less fortunate than I am in terms of the locality in which they live.

[p1esk]

Hang On said:

p1esk said:

I'd never heard of blast resistant glazing, but would it give protection against those who might use a glass cutter to gain entry?

Yes it would (although I doubt that is a common mode of entry with double / triple glazing systems). Laminated blast resistant glass can't be sliced from the external side only; you'd have to have internal access already to cut a piece off in all practical scenarios.

Thank you for the explanation. I didn't expect to find that the glass cutting trick was in regular use.

[p1esk]

Spoon Burner said:

I was burgled about 3 months ago, they came in whilst I was in bed by smashing in through the conservatory and then the kitchen window. The one had a knife and they took my car.

The forensics team and the police on the whole were great. The forensics team told me the bar none the best deterrent and the only thing that will truly make burglars think twice is a big dog.

I'm now moving house because of what happened as I still can't sleep properly at night, wouldn't wish it on anyone.

If I didn't have the option of moving I'd be investing in a family protection trained Italian mastiff from these guys (watch from 1m10s)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=75&amp...

The emboldened bit above is my doing; spoon burner has my full sympathy.

This is a completely outrageous situation, but of course we're too 'civilised' to do anything about it.

[anonymous-user]

Burglary isn't Good, but as I get older I think I'd prefer that paramedics and other emergency services can get in ky house if they need to.

I don't want to die because I've turned my house into fort knox.

[CAPP0]

GhostyDog said:

Wire the door handles up to the mains if they are metal, that'll give the feckers a surprise

That's an obvious & easy one, doesn't everyone do that anyway?

[hairyben]

Worth noting if you have older double glazing you can replace the handles with locking ones easily enough which are nicer than add-on locks

ReverendCounter said:

Badda said:

Yipper said:

Allow me to further my post count with another pointless response

Why do you bother posting? Honestly, it's just always drivel.

I think this 'yipper' is an experimental chat bot account, with the person behind it occasionally stepping in to wipe it's bottom and get it back on track.

Edited by ReverendCounter on Friday 2nd February 16:48

I've been wondering the same, there's something very generic about its contributions.

[mikeiow]

keirik said:

Burglary isn't Good, but as I get older I think I'd prefer that paramedics and other emergency services can get in ky house if they need to.

I don't want to die because I've turned my house into fort knox.

LOL! I think I'm with you on this!

[condor]

Surprised no one has mentioned electronic gates to the property. There are properties that have locked gates and a slot for post/newspapers so no one need visit the house at all...unless invited , of course.

[Andy-SP2]

My late wife grew up in Rhodesia and always had 3 German shepherds after the political situation changed.. Over there, if someone was planning to burgle the place they'd just put poison meat down for the dogs

For ideas about home security, look towards the South Africa https://mybroadband.co.za/news/security/176619-how...

[CharlesdeGaulle]

condor said:

Surprised no one has mentioned electronic gates to the property. There are properties that have locked gates and a slot for post/newspapers so no one need visit the house at all...unless invited , of course.

But you need to leave them open on bin day, and when workmen are expected, and for guests, and for the courier than needs a signature. And so on.
I'm not saying they're not a good idea, but you need to be careful that your security measures don't end up becoming a ball-ache for you and everyone else going about their normal business; if they do, you don't use them and then they're not worth having.

[V8RX7]

Andy-SP2 said:

My late wife grew up in Rhodesia and always had 3 German shepherds after the political situation changed.. Over there, if someone was planning to burgle the place they'd just put poison meat down for the dogs

For ideas about home security, look towards the South Africa https://mybroadband.co.za/news/security/176619-how...

Looking at that link...

You'd climb / force the gate easily.
Who wants to live like that ?

[Andy-SP2]

V8RX7 said:

Andy-SP2 said:

My late wife grew up in Rhodesia and always had 3 German shepherds after the political situation changed.. Over there, if someone was planning to burgle the place they'd just put poison meat down for the dogs

For ideas about home security, look towards the South Africa https://mybroadband.co.za/news/security/176619-how...

Looking at that link...

You'd climb / force the gate easily.
Who wants to live like that ?

Oh she hated it which is why she got out and moved back here.. She found it really strange that, in the UK, she could go out of an evening and not have to look over her shoulder all of the time..

[anonymous-user]

eliot said:

Re. Dogs
When you are out walking the dog or on holiday with the dog - who’s looking afer the house?

There’s plenty of measures you can take without getting a dog - i’m not going to spell them
out in public for obvious reasons.

Not obvious really unless you’ve developed a new home security system that no one knows about? Everything you won’t spell out in public is already known by burglars and most people here. Don’t worry about it.